1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of technical support for a software product and more particularly to filtering technical documentation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern technology can be complex in nature and technical documentation is often used to describe modern technology. Originally in paper form, technical documentation can range from a paper description of the specifications for a technology, to a detailed instruction manual for configuring and deploying a technology. Recently, technical documentation has migrated to electronic form due to the ease in which a viewer can scan and search specific portions of an electronic document without requiring reference to a paper index. Initially associated with software products as online help, electronic documentation now subsists as an independent product, which can relate to any number of technologies including, but not limited to software technologies.
Generally, technical documentation is a one-size-fits-all proposition. Technical writers produce technical documentation with an intended, model reader in mind. Oftentimes, technical writers fail to account for varying degrees of technical expertise in drafting technical documentation. Notwithstanding, some effort has been expended in producing technical documents that address various levels of expertise. In the latter circumstance, unique notational structure can be applied to technical documentation to indicate portions of material from the technical documentation which are suitable for understanding by one demographic of user, while the remaining portions of material from the technical documentation can be suitable for a different demographic.
In many circumstances, technical documentation describes a sequence of steps to be performed to achieve a particular goal such as the configuration of a software system. For the technical writer, it can be challenging to determine how much detail to provide in describing the necessary sequence of steps. For the uninitiated, complexity can be confusing. Likewise, for the experienced reader, simplicity can neglect subtle nuances of interest. Conversely, for the experienced reader, simplicity may be all that is required, while for the uninitiated, complexity and detail can be required to understand the sequence of required steps.
To address the difficulty in crafting technical documentation suitable for a wide ranging audience, several methodologies have been proposed and implemented. For instance, summary outlines have been provided where each entry in the outline can be an active hyperlink to a more detailed explanation of the entry. In this way, simplicity is the default position, while complexity is an optional position. As another example, search engines have been coupled to documentation to allow the reader to specify keywords for filtering technical documentation to a select number of topics. In the former circumstance, the reader is forced to choose between simplicity and complexity. In the latter circumstance, the successful filtering of the technical documentation remains subject to the effective selection of search terms by the reader.